


The Poison in Your Bones

by orphan_account



Series: Winteriron Prompts [5]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel
Genre: Hostage Situations, Kidnapping, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Stalking, but it's still dubious, i mean there's no sex so it's not terrible
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-31 21:31:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6488137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Good morning, love,” she replies huskily, brushing her nose against his before tilting her head for a kiss.</p><p>Tony sighs, returning the kiss as best he can. After all, he doesn’t want his kidnapper to go crazy and kill him because he doesn’t “love” her enough.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Poison in Your Bones

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on the Winteriron Tumblr for the prompt: 
> 
> _Tony and Bucky are together but Tony has a stalker who thinks that Tony belongs to him and sets up something to make it look like Tony cheated. Everyone believes it and Tony leaves hurt. He’s kidnapped by his stalker who’s angry at Tony for not being with him like he thinks he should be. Cue some hurt and angst until finally the Avengers come to the rescue and save him, with apologies all around and some serious making up to do._

Tony wakes up to a quiet, still morning, earlier than he’s used to. The curtains to the window aren’t fully closed and a beam of light paints a bright stripe up his torso and across his face. He gives a sleep-heavy sigh and turns on his side to hide away as best he can from the new day. The side he now faces is unoccupied, warm and still shaped in the form of his bedmate. He stills upon noticing, focusing as best he can on any sounds that echo throughout the house. A few seconds pass and he can hear the soft shufflings of feet across the hardwood floor. A few seconds after that, the door creaks ever so slightly as it’s opened, and he’s met with the sight of his bedmate. He pushes on a smile, and mumbles, “Good morning.”

The woman smiles in return as she slips back into her place on the bed, pushing her body up against his. “Good morning, love,” she replies huskily, brushing her nose against his before tilting her head for a kiss.

Tony sighs, returning the kiss as best he can. After all, he doesn’t want his kidnapper to go crazy and kill him because he doesn’t “love” her enough.

* * *

Many would think Tony Stark, the Iron Man, would be able to fight off a woman, even if he wasn’t inclined to hurt her. And under most circumstances, yeah, he could, without a second thought. But this woman… this woman was _crazy_. And rich. A dangerous combination when they become obsessed and won’t pull their punches to get what they want.

It was just a routine fundraiser for a charity that Tony couldn’t exactly remember, and he was getting a refill for himself at the bar. Suddenly, this woman walked up to him, gave her name - Cordelia, was it? - and proceeded to try and keep her obsession on the down-low. Tony had give props for that. He was fully aware there were quite possibly crazier people attending the function, so it wasn’t hard to smile and give Cordelia some of his time.

How was he supposed to know she’d take it as encouragement?

He hadn’t expected to see her again and so thought nothing of it. But really, did he have the same excuse for the other five times she popped up in random places? Perhaps he was getting soft, but he would have liked to think better of people. He liked to think that she was just a fan who had this strange notion they were meant to be together. So he had been trying to let her off gently. Sorry, no, not interested, and even if he was… no, that was a lie. He’d never be interested. He was James Buchanan Barnes’ “best fella,” why the hell would he be crazy enough to even be interested in someone else? Tony was wholly devoted to James, and no one would ever convince him otherwise. But how was he supposed to know Cordelia would take it as a challenge?

* * *

“Arthur has made us some beautiful buttermilk pancakes with bacon,” Cordelia says as they walk into the kitchen, hand in hand. “He made the coffee, too. I know how much you love coffee.”

“Who doesn’t love coffee?” Tony keeps up his smile before settling at the table. And the helping of pancakes and bacon looks delicious. It reminds him of James cooking skills. But he quickly turns his mind away from that memory of James, half-naked, flipping the pancakes expertly. If he focuses too long, his heart will ache and remind him of this fucked up predicament he’s in. So instead, he keeps his nonchalant appearance up and takes up the fork to proceed with breakfast.

The mercenaries Cordelia hired aren’t lounging about the house today. It’s just Arthur, the man with a perpetual scowl and a gun holstered at his hip. Tony doesn’t react to this, but he does consider what this could mean. The mercs originally were there to keep him in line, because Cordelia genuinely thinks he’s been brainwashed to want to be with the Avengers. If they’re not here to keep him in line, then Cordelia probably sent them to go after one of his friends. Or maybe she sent them home, he really has no idea. She’s the one who has problems in the head, she’s unpredictable and unstable.

“Tony?” He startles out of his thoughts at Cordelia’s voice and touch to his hand. When he looks up, she stares back with concern. “Darling, are you alright?”

Tony swallows down what he really wants to say. Yelling, “No, I’m not alright, because you’re ruining my fucking life,” would just upset her and bring Arthur over to knock some “sense” into him. He gives his megawatt smile and instead says, “Yeah, I’m good. Just got ideas for some robotics, that’s all.”

Cordelia smiles in return, pulling away to continue eating. “That’s wonderful, Tony. It’s good to see you still creating. Anything we can get you, just let me know, okay?”

Tony’s heart lurches. This could be it. His chance to break out of this hell, go and save his friends, fix what this bitch messed up. Of course, there are some things he’s pretty sure are impossible to fix.

Like his relationship with James.

* * *

Cordelia did not take his rejection seriously at first. She was so certain she was this catch, the perfect woman for someone like him. Maybe she would’ve been if he didn’t already have James. And was still the self-destructive alcoholic from before the advent of the Avengers. But neither was true and so he kept firm to his rejection.

After that, she did not take it well. At all.

She would leave voicemail messages and texts all day. It would stop if they met at any event he was obligated to attend, but he wouldn’t linger if she made contact. Which meant he had Pepper on his ass about leaving every event early. She didn’t really believe the whole “crazy stalker girl he was kinda freaked out by” story and said if he was so freaked out then he could take James as his plus one.

But James hated those events. He was always rigid and quiet to any Avengers-required function unless a fight broke out. If he tried asking James, Tony knew he would get a very adamant no. So, yeah, probably not the best idea, but he decided to tough it out and attend the events. She was just one woman, he could handle just one woman.

What he couldn’t handle was whatever she sent to the Avengers to make them turn on him.

* * *

“Actually,” Tony says, standing up and moving to one of the smaller tables, “if I make a list, could Arthur here go and get the stuff. I don’t really wanna wait on this, or else I might forget.” He writes things like “reticulated spline” and “adjustable trailing arm” in his worst chicken scratch. If Arthur actually goes for it, he’ll be all alone with Cordelia, which means he’ll be able to knock her out and return to the Tower, maybe even help his teammates with whatever Cordelia sent at them.

“Of course, Tony,” Cordelia responds easily. “Arthur had some errands to run anyway, I’m sure he can get you the things you need. Isn’t that right, Arthur?” There is no response to her prompt, but Tony assumes he nodded his head or something like that. He has to hand it to Arthur, he definitely knows how to pull off the quiet but dangerous act.

Not long after that, Arthur leaves, Tony’s list tucked in his back pocket. It’s just him and Cordelia now, cuddled on the sofa as some soft music plays in the background. It’s a quiet and calm moment, but it doesn’t last. Because as soon as Cordelia starts singing the song, Tony’s mind starts racing about what to do, where to go. He’s wasting time, because he may have tried to keep Arthur out with the list, but Arthur is no fool. As soon as he is able to decipher the writing, he’s going to know something is up. So, what, ten to twenty minutes at most? He has to act now.

“Where do you go when you get all thoughtful like that?” Cordelia breaks him out of his thoughts, straddling his lap as she wraps her arms around his neck.

Tony smiles, resting his hands on her hips. “All sorts of places. Can’t stop it, really.”

“Mm, I wouldn’t want you to. You’re a genius engineer, Tony. Your mind is so much more valuable than whatever the Avengers push you into.” Her eyes are full of genuine concern, and soon she buries her face into his neck. “How did you endure it, darling? What things did they make you do that never made it to the news?”

Tony squashes the anger bubbling up. Getting upset to soon will put him at a disadvantage. Well, more of a disadvantage. So he swallows the bitter taste in his mouth and lies, “They expected me to make them new and improved equipment. Even when SHIELD was offering their upgrade services, they insisted I could do it. I mean, I could, and I did, but I didn’t even get a thank you. Cap was so high and mighty, bossed me around and yelled at me for every little thing I did wrong. Pretty sure the spy twins wanted me dead, or at least off the team. And J- Bucky, he manipulated me into the relationship. Made me think he was doing me a favor by fucking me. Said no one else would want someone as messed up as I was.”

He knew everything he was saying was utter shit, but it still hurt to say. He was the one pushing his upgrades on everyone. Steve very rarely yelled, and he only did it when he was scared. Clint and Natasha, they teased him every chance they could, but it felt less malicious and more… _familial_. And James? James was saying all that, but about himself, and only for the first couple months. He was always amazed Tony would want anything to do with him, and Tony would be the one telling James that he was worth more than what he gave himself credit for. Knowing all that, it just made his lies hurt all the more, even if they were for survival.

Cordelia sighs sadly, warm breath tickling his neck and sending an unpleasant shiver up his spine. “Don’t worry,” she says, “they can’t do that to you ever again. Once everyone comes back, we’ll get out of the States, go someplace where they can’t find us.” She pulled back, determination lighting up her eyes. “We’ll keep you safe, love, I promise.”

At that moment, Tony hears the front door open, and his blood runs cold. Shit, he’s out of time. He forgot about the team of thugs and now they’re here. How will he fight his way out now?

Cordelia, on the other hand, smiles. “Look at that, already wrapped everything up.” She kisses him before standing up. “I’ll let them know to move the timetable forward, alright? Those Avengers will never see you again.”

And fuck, if that doesn’t sound more like a threat than a promise.

* * *

Tony had woken up one day, had gone through his usual morning ritual of guzzling coffee when Steve had stormed in, looking pissed as hell. Before Tony could even wrap his mind around the fact that he was the focus of that rage, Steve laid it all out: Tony was cheating, he’d seen the video of him with some woman, how could he do this to James, Steve thought he loved James. It quickly devolved into him defending himself over something he was 180% positive he didn’t do. Everyone else got involved and confirmed the video’s existence, which only pissed Tony off even more and made him more adamant in his defense.

And then James came into the room. Tony never felt so heartbroken by the look on his face. James had kept his expression blank, almost scarily blank, and his eyes looked guarded. Like he didn’t want to believe it, but that he couldn’t deny the evidence. Evidence Tony was constantly denying was real. Because it _wasn’t_.

In the end, he’d been left alone, no one convinced of the truth. And so he just pressed forward as usual. Working on upgrades, barely eating or sleeping, because the kitchen would have James and his bed wouldn’t. One day turned to two, to a week, to a month, with no change. Then he went to another mandatory social event, and there Cordelia was. And then she asked: “What did your friends think about the video?” He barely even remembered what happened after that.

It all went downhill from there. He woke up in some foreign house, Cordelia at his side and explaining everything. Insisting the Avengers hurt him, manipulated him into everything he did. And obviously he would deny it, but after the team of thugs were revealed, he kept his protests to himself. And wondered what was worse: being kidnapped from his friends, or realizing his friends wouldn’t know or care.

* * *

Tony panics. He can’t deny that, he panics flat out. Without any thought to the consequences, he jumps up and tackles Cordelia, covering her mouth to keep her from screaming.

“I’m going nowhere,” Tony hisses. “If anyone is manipulating me, it’s you. What the fuck did you put in that video, huh? What makes you think I’d ever want to be with some crazy bitch who isolates me from everyone and everything?”

She kicks him straight in the groin, and everything is pain for a good long while. He barely registers her crawling away and pulling a gun on him, but once he’s cleared his head, the muzzle of the gun is just inches away from his face.

“We,” she pants, “are leaving. We are never coming back, and you’re never seeing them again. You understand me?? Why would you want to see them, they can’t stand the sight of you!”

“Yeah,” a voice comes from behind her, and Tony has never been so relieved to hear Clint sneaking in, “you really need to get your brain checked, lady.”

As Cordelia - yeah, no, from now on, he’s calling her Crazy Bitch - as Crazy Bitch whips around to stare stunned at Clint and his raised bow, Tony pushes through the pain long enough to sweep her legs out from under her and pull the gun from her hands. He shuffles to his knees, the gun pointed straight at Crazy Bitch, and says to Clint, “I had it handled.”

“Like how you had the ‘video’ and the stalking handled?” When Tony looks back to glare at Clint, the man shrugs as he lowers his bow. “I’m just saying, man. You should feel really lucky Steve kept Bucky back and had me come in instead. Pretty sure he wants your head as much as hers.”

Tony winces, and not just from all the pain his poor groin has gone through. It’s true, he could have handled everything better. He could have told James everything from the very beginning, and then when Crazy Bitch sent the video, they could have spent time wondering how the hell she made it instead of arguing whether or not it was Tony in the first place. Then he wouldn’t have to be here in Crazy Bitch’s house, feeling dirtier than that time they had to fight actual mutated alligators in the sewers. “Yeah. Yeah, not looking forward to that.”

“I’m just disappointed, is all,” Clint continues, and Tony winces again, but Clint continues, “ ‘cause I’m supposed to have a good eye for things like this. And I completely missed the signs of you not cheating on Bucky.” Tony looks up in surprise, and Clint has a frown firmly in place. “Tasha isn’t pleased, either. That we let one video override our instincts.”

Tony realizes then that Clint is apologizing. It’s hard saying the words outright, God knows Tony has a hard time with them, but this kind of apology is what the whole team is used to. Tony relaxes at that, because if he can get it from Clint, then maybe there’s some hope it won’t be too worse with James. He stands slowly, groaning at the pain that still throbs in his groin but still keeping his gun trained on Crazy Bitch. “Pretty sure instincts fly out the window when we think our friends are hurt.”

Clint gives a smirk of approval then motion toward the door. “Let’s get outta here, yeah? Let SHIELD take care of her.”

* * *

They take a car back to the Tower since they never really left New York. It’s quiet and awkward during the drive, and it’s still quiet and awkward as they enter the lobby, then the elevator, then the communal floor. Everyone spreads out to make it look like they have things to do. Tony doesn’t really move so much as shuffle uncertainly up and down the hall, wondering between sitting down and waiting at the elevator for James. He’s caught in the middle of his indecision when the door dings and there he is, flanked by Steve and Thor like a couple blond security guards who look guilty as hell. His face is unreadable, and Tony feels his heart racing in panic. It gets even worse when James doesn’t step out of the elevator with the other two and simply says to Tony, “Get in, we’re talking in private.”

Tony steels himself and does his best to not look so dismayed. He got himself into this mess, so he might as well face the music. “Yeah, okay.”

He steps in the elevator and suffers through more silence as they head up to their shared floor and step out into the living room. Tony stops short because he’s not sure what to do with himself, not sure he wants to do anything just yet and James turns back to him, staring him down. 

It takes everything in Tony not to try and fill the silence with pathetic pleas. James sighs, rubs at his face and says, “I can’t believe this went on for a whole month.”

Tony winces but says nothing because he knows this, knows that James has something to say and that he’s not done saying it.

“A whole month… not knowing what the hell was going on. Whole month of not knowing when the other shoe would drop. And then a week of trying to figure out where you were.” He looks back at Tony, his eyes finally showing his exhaustion. “I’m exhausted, Tony. Feels like I haven’t slept in ages. But more than that, I’m just… so pissed.”

Tony winces again, looks away in shame. “Yeah, I… I’m sorry. I should’ve told you about her sooner.”

It’s silent for a brief second, and then Bucky’s confused, “What,” forces Tony to look up and finally get everything off his chest.

“I should’ve told you about her from the first meeting. It would’ve been easy, just a, ‘Yeah, crazy chick just told me she loves me, weird right,’ and then we wouldn’t be in this situation. Hell, I could’ve just stuck by you all that night, I probably wouldn’t have met her in the first place.”

James blinks at him, genuine confusion now confusing Tony, and eventually says, “I… what? Are you telling me you should’ve been able to predict a crazy woman’s actions?”

Tony frowns. “Well… yeah?”

James sighs, moving forward to pull Tony into a tight embrace. “Idiot. The whole point about crazy people is that you can’t predict their actions. You never know what’s going to set them off. You never know how far they’re going to take it. Even a genius like you can’t foresee that kind of shit.”

Tony is too stunned to hug back. “I… what are you pissed about, then?”

“Hmm, I dunno, maybe I’m pissed at the crazy lady who decided to kidnap you in the first place? Or maybe, maybe I’m pissed at my friends for not believing us when we tried to make them realize you weren’t cheating on me? Honestly, I’m more pissed at them than her at this point.”

“What?? Why? They were just looking out for you!”

“Which is all fine and dandy, but since when have they never looked for evidence beyond some stupid video some anonymous schmuck emails us? Since when have they been so stuck with one opinion that they’re not willing to listen to a _whole month_ of me trying to explain how bullshit just the idea is of you cheating? A fucking month, Tony and they think I’m some stupid idiot that can’t tell whether my boyfriend is cheating on me or not. Swear to Christ.”

“But… you’re not pissed at me?”

“I’m frustrated with you, is all. Whole month without you there beside me? You didn’t even try to fight it.”

“Well, the whole hour of trying to reason with them made it pretty clear that I was on the losing side of things. Thought… thought you wouldn’t want to see me while you tried to figure things out.”

James sighs against, pulling back to stare Tony straight on. “Unless I tell you I don’t want to see you, you can rest assured that I want to see you. No matter how bad things look, I’ll always want you near me. I’ll always stick with you. Kinda comes with loving you to death.”

He has no idea why that would make all the fear and panic flood out of him, but Tony’s not going to begrudge the relief that comes flooding in to replace it all. He leans in, pressing his lips to James’, and James immediately responds in kind, pulling Tony impossibly closer. Tony’s arms finally get the memo and wrap themselves around James, his hands sinking into his thick hair. They spend what feels like hours standing there, kissing each other in relief, basically telling each other without words how much the other was missed, how much the other is loved.

Eventually, they pull away and James gives him a smile while bringing his hand up to cup Tony’s face. “Now, how’s about we get some dinner? Order some Thai, get some rest, forget the idiots we have for friends for a little while longer.”

Tony smiles, leaning into James’ touch. “Sounds perfect. Maybe a movie, too?”

“Sure, sounds good.” James pulls away with a broader smile and heads for the kitchen. “You want some coffee?”

Tony twitches, reminded of that morning. “Uh, nah, I’m fine. Maybe some juice?”

“Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?”

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from "The Devil Within" by Digital Daggers. It was the song I'd think of frequently when writing up this piece.


End file.
